United Airlines’ planes go to a track at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on February 20, 2025.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty images
United Airlines Will cancel 35 round-trip flights a day from its schedule at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after thousands of passengers faced time delays this week, CEO Scott Kirby said on Friday, blaming the disruptions of the staff of the air traffic controller and technological problems of the Federal Aviation Administration.
The flight reductions represent around 10% of United’s daily calendar in his Newark Hub.
More than 300 flights inside and outside Newark were delayed on Friday afternoon, adding more than 1,400 other delays and cancellations earlier this week, according to the Flightaware flight tracking site.
“It is disappointing to make other cuts to an already reduced calendar in Newark, but as there is no way to solve the short -term FAA structural endowment problems, we believe that there is no other choice to protect our customers,” Kirby told customers on Friday.
The calendar discounts will start this weekend.
Kirby said 20% of Newark air traffic controllers “have left work” in recent days after several technological failures.
“Keep in mind that this particular air traffic control installation has been in chronic under-effective for years and without these controllers, it is now clear-and the FAA tells us-that Newark airport cannot manage the number of planes that should work there in the weeks and months to come,” he said.
The FAA said in an opinion that endowment problems with the delay in operations in Newark on Friday.
Kirby said the airline now urged the agency to more closely control the airport’s capacity by establishing flight restrictions such as those in other very congestioned facilities such as New York Laguardia Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The FAA and the transport service did not immediately respond to requests for comments. The air traffic controllers’ union refused to comment.
Last year, the FAA moved the air traffic controllers responsible for air space around Newark in Philadelphia instead of an installation in New York in order to relieve congestion.
Kirby said he spoke with Transport Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday and congratulated the Trump administration for promising to invest and repair air traffic control infrastructure in the United States
United said Thursday that FAA technology failures, the construction of tracks and the strong winds had resulted in disruption, which forced him to divert at least 21 flights.
Newark is one of the country’s most congestioned airports, and Kirby has repeatedly complained of air traffic controllers. United also reduced its Newark calendar in recent years due to excessive delays, blaming similar factors.
The Transport Department offered a new list of incentives on Thursday to help reduce the shortages of air traffic controllers, a problem that has persisted for years and worsened during training breaks in the middle of the COVI-19 pandemic.
United Airlines said it would give up change costs or tariff differences for customers affected by Newark disturbances.